Everyone
hates having so many remote controls, but they are necessary
accessories, right? How important is an accessory, anyway? If
you have eleven remotes on your coffee table, then something to contain the
mess is obviously important. But there's more to it than that. Believe it or not, some of the most innovative product developments in
consumer electronics are being done for this couch potato
device. There are remote controls that are programmed automatically
over the Internet, remote controls that cost $6,000 and can automate your
entire house, remote controls that look like Palm Pilots, remote controls
for your Palm Pilot, remote controls for toddlers, and remote
controls for Trekkies.

OK. Why?

Three reasons:

Even if you just have a basic TV, VCR, and DVD player
- and nearly 40% of Americans do - that's already too many little bricks
lying around. Of course, if you do happen to have eleven
remotes on your coffee table, the need to winnow the herd is self
evident. (I confess, I don't actually have a coffee table, but I
do have remotes for a Sony receiver, Yamaha amp/processor, CD player,
DVD player, RePlay PVR, VCR, rear center surround processor, rear
projection TV, digital projector, a Lutron switch for my lights, and an
animatronic Mr. Potato Head.)

The enormous popularity of cheap DVD players means
there are a lot of cheap – and poorly designed – remote controls
begging to be replaced with better ones.

The enormous popularity
of DVD players in general is driving a home theater building boom.
However, home theaters are quite complicated, and no one should be
forced to memorize a five-remote-sequence to start a movie. There's a cardinal rule for anything technical: if you can’t use it,
you won’t. Even relatively simple TV/DVD/receiver systems need
to assign volume control to something other than the television's
internal speakers. This means that at least three remotes must be
used in sequence to do anything (the picture is controlled by the TV's
remote, the volume is controlled by the remote for the receiver (or
processor), and the DVD's remote is needed for the DVD menu – and
that's if everything is as simple as can be). It's too much work,
and frustrating if you use the wrong remote in the wrong order.

So, the remote control business is booming, and there
are choices, choices, choices. First, lets define a few terms and
concepts:

Universal
– A universal remote should be
able to control many devices from a wide variety of manufacturers.
(I used to have a receiver that came with a remote that would control the
receiver, plus any other A/V components from the same brand - and only
the same brand. That's not a universal remote, that's a . . . I
don't know what that is.)

Learning
– A learning remote is an old remote
that can be taught new tricks. This allows you to control more
components from more obscure manufacturers or
whatever new thing comes down the road in the future. Here's how
it's usually done: put the remotes head to head, set the learning
remote to learning mode, push the button on the new remote you want to be
taught, push the button on the old remote you want to be learned, and
watch the remotes' minds meld with each other.

Function vs. Task
– This is the conceptual
orientation of the remote (not that there's anything wrong with
that). What this (really) means is whether the remote is designed to
mimic each feature and function from other remotes, or can guide
the user through specific tasks such as "watch a DVD." Most
remotes are function-oriented, but more complex systems greatly benefit
from task-oriented control. A talented function-oriented remote can
often mimic task orientation to a limited extent by using macros. A
macro is . . . .

Macros – A macro is a sequence of
remote control commands that are triggered by pressing a single button. A macro to
watch channel 28 might be as simple as "Turn TV on. Turn cable box
on. Tune to channel 28." Macros can make complicated systems
much more manageable. The problem with macros? Component
state. No, not whether your TV comes from New Jersey, but what state
the component is in. Is it already on? Off? Set to Video
Input 3? If your TV is already on, our channel 28 macro might
actually turn it off! We'll talk about the solution to this
problem below.

Infrared vs. RF
– A remote control talks to the hi-fi components using one of two technologies: infrared, or RF (radio
frequency). Most remote controls use infrared. Infrared is light
that is just beyond the visible, that is, above the red that we can see,
and it is absorbed by physical objects, so there has to be a direct line of sight to the infrared
receiver on the component. They also don't work well in direct
sunlight, should you want to take your gear outside. Some remotes
have infrared emitters powerful enough to bounce the signal around the
room a bit, but without a system of infrared repeaters, you can't hide
your gear in a closet, or wander into the next room with the remote and
still use it to skip to the next song on your CD player. RF can be
subject to interference from other devices using similar radio
frequencies, and performance depends on the design of the device and the
construction of your rooms, but, in general, it is are far more robust
than infrared. RF is
actually the same kind of energy as visible light (electromagnetic
radiation), but it is longer wavelength and can pass through objects, such
as walls. On
the high end of the price spectrum, some touch-screen and touch-pad remote
controls have RF capabilities: they send an RF signal to an RF receiver
unit which you place with your equipment, which could be in a closet or
another room. The receiver unit then relays the commands in infrared
to the equipment using little emitters that you place right near the gear
itself.

Inexpensive Replacement

If all you want to do is consolidate several remotes,
an inexpensive universal model may be all you need. Leading brands
include One4All, RCA, and Sony. They range from $10 to $60 depending
on how many devices it can control. This is also the category where your remote might
resemble a Star Trek phaser, a Star Wars light saber, a fishing rod, Harley
Davidson gas tank, or Goofy's surf board. Or it can be designed just
for toddlers, so they don't trash your main remote. Or it can just
be a much better remote than what came with your stuff. RCA remotes have particularly nice ergonomics – pick one up in
your hand, and you’ll see what I mean.

Some general things to look for:

A mode indicator, i.e., some indication of what
device is currently "in play." Otherwise, you can hit "Play"
and get quite frustrated when nothing happens, only because the
remote is in "TV" mode, and needs to be set to "VCR" mode before it
will tell the VCR to play anything. A small LCD screen makes
an excellent indicator, but little lights above the button for each
device are just as functional.

Backlighting - do you watch movies with the
lights on? Shame on you. You'll get better picture
quality (along with a more cinematic mood) if you watch in the
dark. But if your remote doesn't have some kind of
backlighting, you might not be able to find the button to watch
anything at all.

How does the new remote know what remote controls you
want to replace? It comes loaded with codes for many - but not
necessarily all - common components. This can work quite well if
you own mainstream, name brand equipment.

Inexpensive
Learning

An inexpensive replacement won't work if the built-in
code library doesn't cover your equipment, or if you want to be covered in
the future should you buy something new. High end components,
no-name brands, projectors, PVRs, CD-R recorders, or digital audio gizmos
are all good reasons to move to a learning remote.

These retail for $30 -
$100. The Home Theater Master (shown here) is one of the more
popular learning remotes; it's available at retail and often included as
the stock remote with many niche brand components.

Static Touch-Screens

How many buttons can you fit on a small stick and still
be able to press them? For many systems, it might not be as many as you
need. Enter the touch-screen, where buttons can be reconfigured with
different labels to perform different tasks depending on what device the
remote is emulating. It works something like the AM and PM
indicators on an LCD digital watch: they’re there all the time, but only
“light up” at the right time of day. Here, all the options for each
button are there, but only “light up” when needed.

There are many choices, but the leader here
is Sony, which has offered a series of squarish, two handed models that
they have continued to improve over the years (shown to the right).

The downside to
touch-screens? You have to look at the
remote to choose the correct button. “Hard buttons” (regular,
three-dimensional, physical buttons) can have different shapes and, with
practice, can be used by feel without looking down. Some people
hate touch-screens. Which brings us to . . . .

Touch-Screen Hybrids

These have more hard buttons, and smaller, less
useful screens. The Sony is already something of a hybrid, and
Philips is adding hard buttons as well to its runaway hit, the Pronto
(more on the Pronto below).

Advanced Touch-Screens

One of the most interesting touch-screen remotes came
from a collaboration between Microsoft and Harman Kardon, which provided
easy programmability and the first task oriented design for the mass
market. Unfortunately, it was both expensive and not as flexible as
it could be, and has been surpassed by the Philips Pronto.

Feel hemmed in by pre-assigned buttons?
The Pronto, with its associated PC editing software, lets you create your
own buttons on the screen. The Pronto has garnered a huge following
because it is
completely flexible, and its files can be saved – and
traded. An entire community of remote control programmers has sprung
up to build/share/trade Pronto *.ccf files. Some just make it easier
to customize your setup, some just make your setup look more attractive,
and (as you might expect) there are far too many Star Trek communication
themes to choose from.

The Pronto's near total flexibility allows you
to create custom task-oriented operation, pages full of television station
icons (have a satellite dish)? Never wonder which three digit number you
need to watch the Home and Garden channel again, because there are pages of album
cover art for your CD changer.

The PC connection provides more than just
design flexibility. Remember the macro problem? We want to
watch channel 28, but step one is to turn the TV on, which backfires if
the TV is already on. One solution to the macro problem is to use
discrete remote control codes. Many, but not all, components
actually have separate remote control codes for different functions, even
if the unit itself appears to only toggle between on/off or cycle through
input modes. How do you find out whether your component has discrete
codes? The best reference is to check http://www.remotecentral.com/, where a lot of kind
strangers have figured this stuff out for you. This issue is so
important that I would almost never buy a component – TV, projector, VCR,
DVD player, PVR, anything – that didn't have discrete command
codes. How do you input a discrete code if your original remote
doesn't have a button for it? That's where the Pronto's PC
connection comes in handy. ProntoEdit provides a field you can use to
input remote control codes directly. Cut, paste, done.

Aside from their cost (a basic Pronto can set
you back nearly $400), the other drawback to the Pronto is the investment
you have to make to program it. The first Pronto models had no
internal code library at all, essentially forcing you to teach it every
command from every remote. A basic user interface was included, but
to take reasonable advantage of the power of the unit, you needed to use
the ProntoEdit program and design your setup from scratch (or download one
from the Internet and customize it).
Current Pronto models come with an
extensive code library built in and can be quickly programmed for
function-based operation. But if you want a task oriented remote or
custom graphics, prepare to dedicate
a few weekends. Mind you, this is like learning a graphics program,
not a programming language – there's no actual programming, you
just assign functions and put together macros, but it's still more effort
than the non-enthusiast wants to expend.

Despite the monetary and time investments
required, Philips has a hit on its hands. Prontos can be optioned
with different amounts of memory, rechargeable batteries, RF expansion
modules, and gorgeous color screens. The color models are really
expensive, but provide much higher perceived resolution – it's very
nice. The non-color versions are improving as well – Philips
just announced the upcoming TSU3000 with a better screen, more hard
buttons, and even better control over the interface.

Philips is also trying to extend their lead by
offering their architecture – along with Intel, who makes the computer
processor the new Prontos use – to other manufacturers to use (for a fee,
of course).

PDA

The recipe for a good universal touch-screen
remote includes a relatively slim case, a touch-screen, reasonable
processing power, an infrared emitter, and PC connectivity. These
ingredients can be found in virtually every PDA since the first Palm Pilot
hit the market. It seems only natural that someone would put
universal remote control software on a Palm. And they have. In
fact, Many Sony Clio models now come preloaded
with Universal remote software, the Compaq iPAQ H3900 series Pocket PC
comes with Nevo technology from UEI, and Philips has announced ProntoLite
software for the Palm platform.

While the basic ingredients may be the same, using a
PDA to control your television has a few drawbacks. First, all the
software I've looked at so far is only competitive with basic touch-screen
remotes. They lack the flexibility found on a more advanced model
like a Pronto. For example, you can control multiple devices, but
not an unlimited number. Buttons can be moved around, but you can't
create your own buttons from scratch. Therefore, you're locked into
a device-specific philosophy, not the more flexible task orientation.

The software can and likely will improve with
time. But there are other, more fundamental drawbacks. You
need to have your PDA with you in order to use it. If it's out with
you at a meeting, it can't also be back on the coffee table. Even if
it does happen to be located in the same room as the A/V rack, you may be
storing sensitive info on your PDA that you don't want all your couch
denizens to have access to. Perhaps most damning, the infrared
blaster on most PDAs isn't nearly as powerful as the emitter on a
dedicated remote – depending on where your couch is located, it might not
have the range. And what's the point of a remote if you have to get
up?!

Internet Enabled

The dot-com era got a lot of people thinking
big thoughts about how to use the power of the Internet to radically
transform life on this planet. Choose toys for your niece based on
an interactive age/interest picker. Offer two million book titles
drop shipped to order. Provide if-then programming options for a
simplified remote control and download channel listings.

Didn't hear about that last one? EToys is gone, Amazon.com has
branched out into selling logistics services, and the folks at Easy Zapper
Inc. have changed their names to Intrigue Technologies, Inc., but they do
indeed still offer an Internet-enabled remote control. Their first
effort, the $199 Harmony (shown here) had a bare minimum of buttons, and
serious aspirations to control the most complicated systems with
ease. Remember the macro problem again? One way to solve it is
to use discrete codes (see the Pronto, above). Another solution is
something called conditional macros – depending on circumstances, the
macro will do different things. This functionality is usually only
available on high end touch-screen pads for the custom installation market
- and for good reason, it can get quite complicated. By putting the
programming engine on the Internet, Intrigue Technologies brought the
benefits to anyone with two C notes in their pocket.

Only it didn't work too well. Users were quickly frustrated by
the programming process, and the lack of hard buttons. Sure, it was
simple – too simple. In order to perform routine activities, users
were made to do crazy button/menu contortions. Intrigue Technologies
has been working to improve the programming process, and they just
announced the latest version of the Harmony. Lo and behold, it has
35 hard buttons. Should be interesting.

Believe it or not, the Harmony is not the only Internet-enabled
remote. Evolve's Guide Remote RD5000M looks like the handhelds
rental car clerks use to check your car back into airports, and it sports
a channel guide on its LCD screen. By syncing the remote up with the
a PC with an Internet connection, you download the latest channel guide
information into the remote. Unfortunately, the remote is otherwise
undistinguished, and having a channel guide on your remote just isn't all
that useful. If you have cable or satellite, you already have a TV
guide channel, and if you're limited to over-the-air reception, you don't
get enough channels to warrant a guide.

Touchscreen Pads, Keypads,
and Integrated Control
Systems

And, for the couch potato who has everything, I present
control systems from Crestron, AMX, and other companies serving the
boardroom and custom home installation market. One of Crestrons'
goodies is shown here. A complete system typically starts in
the $2,000 range, and can easily hit six figures for a state of the art
installation, but you get what you pay for (and it is only as good as the
installer who puts it in for you). First and foremost, you
can’t buy one directly, because a custom installer has to sell it to you.
This means they
program it for you and set it up. These systems combine all the
advantages of advanced consumer touch-screens – total flexibility for
task-based operation – combined with a larger color screen, and added
system control capabilities. If your gear comes with RS232 support
(a computer interface), it generally means external control has been
designed in, and these systems can tap directly into that.

Let's go back to the macro problem one last
time. To get around the pesky issue of determining a component's
state, we've talked about using discrete codes – "on" or "off" in lieu of
an "on/off" toggle, and conditional macros – basically a programming
technique where you tell the macro "If you find this situation, do
this. Otherwise, do this other thing." There is one other
option: current sensing. There are modules that can sense
electrically whether a piece of gear is on or off – no worries about
discrete codes.

Most of these systems also offer RF
capabilities combined with an infrared relay system so that you can store
all your gear out of sight (for example, in a cabinet that blends nicely
into your décor). This is the way to go for multi-room installations
all the way up to whole-house automation, including HVAC (Heating, Vacuum,
and Air Conditioning), lighting, and a distributed audio/video system.

Now get off your couch and hit the
computer!

Notes:

Want to test your memory? In a sophisticated home theater
you may not only have to turn the projector on, but set the memory for the
source after it's had time to boot up, turn on the video processor, and
then after it's been on for long enough to respond, set the scan rate,
default aspect ratio, calibrated color, contrast, brightness, and
sharpness for the combination of source component and display device (it's
not uncommon to have a projector and another monitor for casual viewing).
Next, turn on the receiver/preamplifier, and select the input after the
initial boot time. Amplifiers may need to be triggered to turn on after a
delay to avoid pops or thumps from the preamplifier. But wait, there’s
more: don’t you want the lights to dim to a preset level, and pull the
drapes or shades to block external light, perhaps depending on the time of
day? Then of course, you need to get the source turned on and playing . .
. .

Some devices are “on” all the time – when they’re “off”
they’re really in a “standby” mode. Effectively dealing with these issues
requires the skill of an experienced installer. There are also sensors
which can detect the state of a CRT via the electrical field, video sync
sensors, and light sensors that you can place over the LEDs that light up
on your component’s display when it’s on. Sometimes you're better off just
leaving everything on all the time.

Most components from obscure
manufacturers use "regular" infrared commands. As long as you have
the original remote, you should be golden. There are exceptions:

Some Kenwood
and Denon receivers and several Bose lifestyle
systems don't use infrared at all, they use RF (radio frequency)
controls. You can't teach RF commands to another remote.

Many Bang and Olufsen components use infrared
technology, but at a higher frequency than most learning remotes can
handle. Some learning remotes, like the Philips Pronto, can
actually generate the higher frequencies, but can't learn
them. For these remotes, an army of (friendly) geeks have
worked out a solution: they somehow figured out the B&O's
infrared codes in a numerical format, and have posted them on http://www.remotecentral.com/.
You can easily cut and paste the codes from there into the Pronto's
PC software, and download them to your Pronto.

Finally, some Sony and Kenwood receivers have two-way remote
controls – not only can the remote tell the receiver to do
something, but the receiver can talk back and, for example, display
radio tuning information on the remote. You should be able to
teach the remote-to-component commands to a learning remote.
But no learning remote is smart enough to learn to listen to a
response.